In the back seat of a black luxury sedan car, a man in a clean suit checked his cell phone screen and reported. He looked to be in his mid-twenties.

''Mr. Yi Cheng. This urgent request has come directly from the Japanese government." would be clearer and less duplicative.

　With a grim expression on his face, the man in kimono looking out was told by the squire to put his elbow against the window and put his cheekbones on it.
　The man in kimono, the psychic and spirit user Shitenji Takenari, calls out to the young squire of the Shitenji family sitting beside him.

''I'm sure you're already set up, but just in case, ask the agency for backup.

'What? Support...?

　The squire sitting beside him looked startled for a moment at his master's such words, but he responded with a bitter smile.

''Yi Cheng-sama, I understand that this is troublesome, but.......''

　It was the first time the squire had ever heard his master say such a thing in front of his work.

'Even you don't notice it. No, Meira, I'm saying this because I feel it's necessary.''

　Yi Cheng did not change his expression. But the driver of the sunglasses dispatched by the Japanese branch of the World Ability Agency also felt the tension in the car.
　The students' spring break was approaching the middle of the year, and the atmosphere in the world, for better or worse, was one of peace and quiet.
　Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Metropolitan Expressway, which had nothing to do with the world, there were three men in that black luxury sedan.
　The expressionless driver, wearing a black suit and sunglasses, looks like a SP from some country.
　And in the back seat was a man dressed in Japanese clothing with an air of dignity that makes it hard to believe he was forty-three years old, and a man in his mid-twenties who looked like a good-natured man in his mid-twenties sat silently in a gray suit.

''That's...! No, I understand. I'll contact the chapter.

　There was a moment's pause, but Akira Kanzaki, the squire of the Shitendera family, tightened her meek face and hastily pulled out her cell phone and began to move her fingers busily.
　For a master and servant who have been together for a long time, the exchange appears to be awkward.
　But the reaction of this Yi Cheng's squire, Ming Liang, might have been a no-brainer.
　Speaking of Shitenji Takishige, there are only five people in this world in active service, and he is the highest ranked "Rank SS" ability holder as determined by the World Ability Agency. Moreover, he is the man who is always named at the top of the list.

　Rank SS......

　A person with the ability to bear that name is a transcendent who lives in a realm that no one can measure anymore.
　This rank SS, and a man who has the combat power to rival the armies of one of the world's major powers, is asking for your support.

　What kind of request is this?

　Also, this Yi Cheng's attendant, Shenzen Mingliang, was also on the edge of a spirit user. Right now, he certainly felt that something unusual was happening.
　The reason was that his own signature ability, exploration wind, was not reaching the site he was currently heading to. This is not normal.
　Nevertheless, at the same time, Akira has absolute trust in this master. It's already something that could be called faith.
　It has been ingrained in his head through experience that no matter what the situation is, as long as Yi Cheng deals with any opponent, there will be no problems.
　While Meira is beside him, asking the Japanese branch of the World Authority for support, Yi Cheng looks out the window and sees a certain Englishman's face.

(Probably, this time this is a demon god. If I were to team up, preferably that guy........

　The agency had received a report from the agency that a person with the same rank SS ability as Yi Cheng, who was said to be a Sword Saint, had not been able to contact him at all for several months now.
　As a spirit user, Yi Cheng's specialty range was medium to long range. If that was the case, he would be a good match for the Sword Saint, who was superhuman in close combat and also boasted unparalleled fighting power.
　However, right now, he is on his way to the scene of an incident that has already taken place. It was obvious that he couldn't be in the care of the man who was currently missing.
　In the first place, thinking about it was itself an indication of this Yi Cheng's lack of leeway.
　In other words, it was an abnormal situation right now.
　Yi Cheng is feeling the pressure, coming to the core of his body.

(This feeling... what is it?　Is it different from the previous demon gods...? (The spirits are frightened.)

　Ming Liang quickly finished the call and looked nervously at his master, but he couldn't see Yi Cheng's expression as his face was facing out the window.

''I don't need you if you're going to slow me down.

'Yes, you don't have to say it, but it will come across that way.

　Immediately, Meira responds.
　After all, that Shitenji Takishige is asking for support. You can't afford to team up with a person of ordinary ability. That will be fully understood by the person who received the call.
　Yi Cheng's Spiritual Technique is too powerful, so if they make a mistake, the friends who form a team are also in danger.
　Thirty minutes ago, Yi Cheng was scheduled to have lunch with a certain big politician at a secluded restaurant in Ueno. He disliked this kind of socializing, but he has resigned himself to the fact that it's the least amount of work for the head of the Shitennji family.
　Moreover, today was the night that Takishige's only daughter, who would be turning fifteen this year, was preparing for her coming of age ceremony, a tradition in the Shitenji family. It was an important ceremony in the Shitenji family, and he had originally planned to leave early.
　At that moment, an urgent call from the ability agency came to Yi Cheng.
　Normally, it would have been through the Shitenji family, but they contacted Meira directly. ''Yi Cheng directly to us? But he was secretly delighted that this would allow him to withdraw from today's luncheon, and he made a superficially apologetic face to a certain big-time politician and left.
　However, those flirtations have now completely disappeared. The closer he gets to the scene, the more Yi Cheng feels a tingling sensation on his own skin.

(So they're going to contact me directly. What the hell is this?　(This is...)

　Ten minutes after the car exited the interchange, it stopped at a corner of a major company's headquarters building in front of Shinagawa station.
　The police had already cordoned off the area with a handout from a competent agency. The area was divided with heavy tape and other materials, and a large number of policemen lined the area, and it was strictly guarded to ensure that no one could ever come by.
　Yi Cheng got out of the car that had entered the inside of the tape that was strictly partitioned, and stared at the roof of the building in front of him.

''Up there........''

　Ming Liang exited the car at the same time as Yi Cheng, followed Yi Cheng and turned his face upwards, feeling a dull pressure, and was stunned.

''This, this!　What the hell...?

　Ming Liang muttered involuntarily.
　Yi Cheng and Ming Liang looked up, and in the sky above the roof of the building, there was a black cloud swirling around, something that was never seen in nature.
　Moreover, it was small, but it was emitting numerous lightning bolts incessantly.
　The scene was like the embodiment of CG images from a movie in the real world, something that was difficult to accept as reality right away.
　And just by watching it, it chilled Ming Liang's heart, who was also an able-bodied person.
　But Yi Cheng had seen this before.
　This was the first time he had seen something of this magnitude........

''........Don't let anyone come here.''

　As if Yi Cheng didn't want to wait for the ability person he had asked for to cheer him up, he jumped towards the roof of a skyscraper that was over forty stories high with a couple of steps of assistance, as if he was jumping over a field fence.

''Ah, Yi Cheng-sama!　Please wait! I haven't got the support... oh my god!　They're gone.

　Meira ignored the ordinary police officer, whose eyes widened impossibly as he witnessed Yi Cheng's actions, and rushed over to the staff member belonging to the ability agency who had come to the scene earlier.

''Have you got backup yet!

'Ha!　Shinzen-sama. Right now, Omine-sama is heading this way by helicopter. He will probably arrive in about fifteen minutes or so, but...

Hisae-san, no, the branch chief himself?　Well, that's what happens when you work with Yi Cheng-sama. But what the hell was that cloud.......did the branch leader say anything about it?

''No, not in detail. However, as soon as he contacted Yi Cheng-sama, he also gave instructions to each department, and even before he was contacted by Shinzen-sama, he prepared to go there himself. All the competent people and staff in the branch offices were mobilized. I have also requested the fullest possible support from our agency branches around the world.

　There is a moment of silence between Meira and the staff.

''Also, Oomine-sama said that those below rank A are to remain on site until further instruction. He said that they should never move rashly.

''So........that's all that's happening. Why on a day like this........ It's Mizuho-sama's coming of age ceremony in the evening.

　Meira laments as she lightly presses her forehead with one hand.

''Mizuho-sama?　Are you Yi Cheng-sama's daughter?

Yes, Master Yi Cheng's... no, the Shitennji family's treasure.

　Meira and her staff turned their attention to the roof of the building again.
　Then the sound of a helicopter engine could be heard from the sky on the other side of the building. Akera's eyes went to that helicopter.
　That helicopter was a considerable distance to the ground, but the door of the helicopter was already open, and a strange-aged woman in a suit was standing there with one hand in front of her, standing in the middle of the building.
　The woman, with her shoulder-length black hair tied back in a bun, jumped out of the helicopter, as if it was useless, even though she was a dozen or so meters in the air, as the helicopter was about to enter landing position.
　And the woman landed in front of Akira and the others without a sound, as if nothing happened.
　The heels of the shoes on her feet seemed to be fine, despite the fact that she had jumped down from such an altitude.
　Suddenly, the head of the Japanese branch of the World Ability Agency descended from the sky, with an ordinary policeman beside him with his mouth impossibly open, as Akera called out.

''Hisae. That was quick.

　Hisae lightly arranged her hair and turned her head to Akera.

''Oh?　Mingliang-kun, where is Lady Yi Cheng?

It's up here.

　Meira turned her body to the roof of the building where Yi Cheng had disappeared. Heartily, the disturbing clouds seemed to be thinner than before.
　Meira was a little relieved that Nisasae had come earlier than she had expected, and she felt the urge to come in to support Yi Cheng as soon as possible.
　As a rank B person, he couldn't follow up with Yi Cheng. But of course, he also decides to be his master's shield in the event of an emergency.

''Shouldn't you have gone directly from the helicopter instead of going down here?

We can't. The dimensional quake is going to take out the helicopter.

'A dimensional quake!　Then that's a demon god up there!　So my exploration winds don't reach you...

　Akera's face tensed up and she could see the blood drain away.
　Meira also knows the Demon God in knowledge. He's never encountered one, but he's at the pinnacle of the extraterrestrials, with a power that could easily blow up that one city.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one who can do this," he said, "Yes, it's also the largest class since we measured it. But it seems that the body no longer exists. I'll be on my way to investigate, so if you don't want to die in the aftermath, you shouldn't come here just yet. This time the intensity of the dimensional quake was level 8.

　Hisae stared upwards.

'At Dortmund it was a 5 on the Richter scale, and a third of the Ruhr industrial area was crippled at that time.

　Five years ago, a major event shook the world, especially Dortmund. It was publicly explained as a tectonic shift and an unreasonable explanation, one that was considered to be a rare natural disaster in the history of humanity.
　In reality, however, it was the work of an SS-ranked demon god that had suddenly appeared from another world.
　It was also the biggest crisis since the establishment of the World Ability Agency, when a number of people with abilities from the World Ability Agency were sent in, causing countless high-ranking rankers to die in battle.
　As one of the few people with experience in the field at that time, Nissae's eyes were filled with power.

''You must not come!

　As soon as she said it, Nisae kicked the ground with her heels and disappeared to the roof of the building, leaving a crestfallen Akera and the others behind.



　About an hour after Hisae Omine, the head of the Japanese branch of the Ability Agency, arrived, dozens of investigators dispatched by the Ability Agency had witnessed the devastation of the rooftop of the building that was in question.
　The concrete rooftop floor had a large hole about twenty-five meters in diameter from the middle, and about five or six stories below, as if it had been punched through by something.
　The crumbling concrete exposed rebar and other parts of the building, but the building itself looked like it was sturdy enough to keep its shape.
　Yi Cheng was on the edge of the roof of the building on the verge of collapse, looking down at the investigators. Meira was also moving around with the investigators.
　Hisae lined up her shoulders beside Yi Cheng with a divine face.

''Yi Cheng-sama, this.......the main body of the Demon God is still.......''

　Nisae doesn't talk lightly as usual.

''Ah, it's disappearing........ No, or made to disappear........''

No, it can't be, but who - no, what the hell happened to...

　The head of the Japanese branch of the World Ability Agency shook his head with an incomprehensible look on his face.

''I don't know ... but the strongest class of demon gods since the measurement disappeared as soon as they manifested. That's how it happened.

''However, none of the other four combat-type rank SS abilities and the six rank S abilities other than mine are in Japan!

Relax. We don't know if it's a fight with a psychic yet. If a gifted person from the agency moves, I'm sure they already have the information, right?　

　Besides.........Yi Cheng shows a self-deprecating expression that he would never normally show in self-mockery, if only for a moment.

''The World Ability Agency's rank SS doesn't mean that you can defeat SS-class demon gods, it means that you're allowed to fight SS-class demon gods.

..........

　Then an investigator came up to report from behind the two men.

''Omine sir. Here are the results of the investigation so far. The place where the Demon God appeared is in the sky above the aquarium on the other side of the station. A dimensional quake was measured there as well, which seems to be the time the Demon God appeared. It seemed to be confirmed that this one was a specific dimensional quake that happens when the Demon God disappears. There's also a lot of civilian casualties, but so far we haven't confirmed any casualties.

　With her arms crossed, Hisae listened to the report. It was the aquarium in front of the station during spring break. There must have been quite a few people there. I'm sorry for the victims, but I think that's about right.

''Also, there are several eyewitness accounts, but they seem to be quite confused...''

Well, that's understandable.

But the only thing that's consistent with the testimony is that something unseen seemed to be fighting with something, but the other testimony is confusing... But other accounts are confusing...

　At the report of something fighting, Hisae and Yi Cheng raised their eyebrows but listened in silence.

''Also, they said they were all protected by some kind of mysterious wall.

Protected?

'Yes, this is also consistent with the testimony. Apparently, most of the damage to civilians was caused when chaos broke out in the crowd, rather than by the demon gods.

"...I don't know. What do the psychometrists report?

'About that...'

What's going on?

'None of them were able to read it. They all collapsed on the spot, and we're sending them to the hospital now.

'Hey!　What do you mean?

...Maybe the vibes were too strong.

　Yi Cheng says to Hisae, who has uncrossed her arms, while staring at the big hole.

''Apparently there was a powerful force clashing.......perhaps. With ordinary mental strength, our nerves would be hit when reading it.''

'Shh, but!　We are all trained that way. Our psychometrists are excellent!

'Hmm. But it wasn't something that could be measured on those levels...

　Unspeakable Hisae puts her palm to her head.

''What in the world is fighting with what.......and the disappearance of the Demon God. So are the psychometrists okay?

The most sensitive person was blown several meters away at the scene, but is reported to be in stable condition. However he has not regained consciousness.

'I think I might have seen something. Ask him as soon as he comes to consciousness. Is there anything else?

　The investigator rolls up the investigation form and waits for instructions, "That's all," he said.
　Hisae began to think about the future. A light drizzle starts to sprinkle around the area.

''Anyway ... continue with the investigation. I'll ask you to compile a report by the end of this week. Oh, and don't forget the information control. We'll unify the name of this case as Shinagawa Demon God. There are too many things I don't understand. Make a record of every little thing. Don't make any personal judgments about the quality of information.

Yes, sir.

　Again, with the rear of the investigators who were headed to investigate, Yi Cheng looked at the sky darkened by rain clouds.

''Is it someone fighting against the Shinagawa Demon God........ Is that guy a person........or........''

　It's light rain now, but Yi Cheng catches the rain that will soon fall hard on his face. He was one of the ten people with the title of [Demon God Killer] and the leading figure of the World Ability Agency.
　That muttering of Shitenji Takishige was muffled by the sound of the rain and did not reach anyone.

　When the rain, which had been light, began to fall in earnest.......

　The opposite side of the station from the collapsed building.

　There, further back from the aquarium, in the darkness of a narrow alleyway on the north side of a large city hotel.

　A boy sits down on the asphalt, propped up on one knee with his elbow on the ground.

　The figure seems to have been drained of all life.


　The boy is lost in the sound of rain, a faint sobbing sound, and his body seems to be trembling in small increments.